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Small Businesses Can Be the Perfect Customers for Your Cybersecurity Startup – Here’s Why| By |Rushal Patel

Small businesses are increasingly looking for enhanced digital security resources. This has opened up an attractive niche for cybersecurity startup companies. Take a look at what you need to know about the security needs of small businesses if you’d like to position your company as a go-to source for solutions.

It can be easy to think that hackers only target high-profile companies that provide them with access to millions of personal records or credit card numbers. We are bombarded with news stories about large-scale data breaches that leave the records of millions of people compromised. This can lull a small business into having a false sense of security about the likelihood of being attacked. However, the reality is that many hackers actually go for low-hanging fruit when they want to steal data. Small businesses are at risk because they rarely have protocols in place to effectively fight off a sophisticated network attack. This reality has left quite a wide niche for cybersecurity startup companies to fill.

Small Businesses Are Looking for Help

Small businesses are feeling vulnerable these days. Seeing headlines about global enterprises in all industries becoming victims of hackers has definitely instilled a sense of fear in every business owner or IT manager. Small businesses simply don’t have the resources to develop sophisticated in-house strategies for keeping data protected. Cybersecurity startup companies should start paying attention to this sector of the market because the conditions are right for a new company to emerge as the authority when it comes to safeguarding small businesses from cyber threats. Most small businesses would rather play a passive role in securing their networks than an active one. They are looking for software and systems that offer automated protection against known and emerging threats. In addition, these companies would like to have a relationship with the company they choose to keep them safe. They are looking for a live ally instead of impersonal software that is nothing more than a glorified antivirus program.

Why Hackers Attack Small Businesses

Size isn’t everything in the tech world. The digital networks and websites of small businesses contain just as much personal information as the ones of large global enterprises. A social security number or credit card code stolen from a small business is just as valuable as one that’s stolen from a major corporation. The big difference is that smaller businesses have so much less protection. In addition, hackers are typically able to go in and out of smaller networks totally undetected. This means they can exploit the information they extract without worrying that the security breach will make global headlines. While there is definitely glory in going after famous brands and enterprises, hackers from around the world can get the information they want much more easily by going after a business with fewer than 100 employees. Going after the small fish is almost always a successful strategy for hackers because most small businesses don’t realize that they have targets on their backs.

How Should You Pitch Your Cybersecurity Product to Small Businesses

Do you think you have what businesses are looking for in terms of cybersecurity solutions? It is important to pitch your product in the right way if you want to prove that you can bring something useful to the table. Small businesses are primarily concerned with costs and ease of use. Is the cost of your product low enough that it won’t require a huge sacrifice that eats away at a bottom line? Is your product something that can be incorporated into the daily workflow without huge changes? A product that can do both of those things is likely to get the attention of small businesses looking for additional security. However, one big problem with courting clients is that many small businesses may not even be aware of just how vulnerable they are. This is why it’s important to take a marketing stance that positions you as an authority on the threats that exist. You already know that the news doesn’t cover the millions of small-scale hacks that happen each year. You can make a marketing strategy of sending newsletters and alerts that highlight when and how smaller breaches occur. Of course, it’s important not to take a sensational or alarmist approach when it comes to providing information to potential clients. You simply want to provide information regarding the common threats that small businesses face. Once you’ve demonstrated the problem, you can then showcase your company as the solution. Providing content on updated threats and hacking trends can show potential clients that the risks are real. In addition, it’s important to provide content that doesn’t always paint your company as the only solution. Simply sharing smart tips about safe email practices, strong passwords and general security will reinforce your company’s standing as authority on the matter without delivering a direct pitch.

Overall, small businesses need your help and so can be the perfect customers for you. Pitch them right before anyone else gets them!